A New Beginning
by Stargazer32557038
Summary: Zoe had isolated herself away from the world, had wiped her existence from the face of the earth. Now, as she walks again the lands of Magnolia, seeking for redemption, she goes to the only place that will allow her to be more than she ever was. Fairy Tail.
1. Chapter 1

**Okay, first of all, hi, how are y'all doing? I'm very new to this thing, as this is the first fanfic that I attempted to write.**

 **1\. When I had started writing this, I didn't have in mind that I would upload it online, as I was only writing it for my own enjoyment, but after I noticed that its length was becoming quite huge, I was like "what the hell? I don't have anything to lose." so I decided to upload it!**

 **2\. Taking that in mind, I will warn you all beforehand that this story doesn't exactly follow the rules of canon, some shit happens that won't really match to it, but it's nothing too crazy. So, when you do see those parts, try not to take it too seriously, as I have changed some parts of the canon to fit this story! I'm just uploading this in case someone else might be into this kind of story and would like to read it.**

 **3\. Lastly, I want to add something about the pairings. This story will mainly focus on the original female character and the platonic relationships that she will have with Natsu and Gray, but there will be slightly Gratsu(Natsu x Gray) in the story as well. The only difference is that, as the story is written from the OC's POV, it won't focus on Gratsu very much.**

 **Anyways, that's all I had to say, and to those who decide to read my story, I hope you enjoy it! :)**

Her heart was beating loud against her rib cage, breath coming out in slight pants as she jogged through the town, a wide grin plastered on her face.

Zoe had arrived in Magnolia just a few days ago, visiting different sights, the town square, conversing with people, wanting to get acquainted with the new land.

It was odd and sometimes scary encountering all these drastic changes that happened all around the world, without her knowing about it. After _that_ unfortunate incident, she had isolated herself from the world, not coming into contact with another human being for years. But now, she could start anew, make a new beginning and knew exactly how and where she would make it.

"Hey, watch where you're going!" a man shouted and she scoffed.

"I'm sorry!" She called out over her shoulder to the one she had bumped in and continued on jogging.

Then, she took a right turn and halted in her steps, staring in awe at the building in front of her as she read the sign.

 _Fairy Tail._

Zoe smiled sadly, eyes downcast. She should be happy, yet she couldn't bring herself to bury the mistakes and regrets of her past life that she carries. Maybe it's for the best, maybe this way, she would learn not to make the same mistakes again, not to take everything for granted as she once did.

She took a deep breath and lifted her head, mustering up the strength to take steps and close the distance between her and the guild's doors. When she reached them, she placed her palms against it and hesitated.

Once she opened these doors, her life would change. Once she did this, she would have to come to terms with her past deeds and lay them to rest.

She straightened her posture, lips set in a hard line and pushed the doors open.

What she came across with wasn't the image she had formed in her head.

Her jaw dropped as she gawked at the loud commotion going around, half of the guild fighting each other, throwing things at one another. She snapped her mouth shut and chuckled, shaking her head.

Seriously, what did she expect? Fairy Tail was known for their goofiness. She gazed at the guild members fighting each other, screaming and laughing. She felt an ache deep in her chest and lifted her hand, fingers curling over her lavender shirt, where her chest was.

"Oh? And who might you be?" The voice snapped out of her trance and she glanced down towards the source of the voice, eyes widening as she stared at an elderly man in a wheelchair.

"Oh, um, hi, my name's Zoe— I, uh, I came here because I wanted to join the guild, if that's acceptable…" she explained whilst rubbing the back of her head.

The old man perked up, grinning widely. "Well, isn't this a pleasant surprise? We haven't had a new guild member in a while. My name is Makarov, I used to be third, sixth and eight guild master of Fairy Tail and this," he said and glanced at the rest of the havoc that occurred in the guild, "this is our famous guild."

Zoe gasped, eyes widened as her arms fell limply to her side. "Makarov— as in Makarov Dreyar?" she asked, staring down at him.

Makarov snapped his head towards her and scowled, studying her for a few moments.

She averted her gaze and tapped her foot against the ground, "I mean, you are famous around the other cities too— and may I be honest, I admire you for all the things you've done."

She cringed at her own words and clenched her jaw. How more awkward could she get? Disappearing from the face of the earth for so many years didn't help her social skills.

"Well, I guess I am pretty popular, aren't I?" Makarov giggled whilst rubbing the back of his neck.

"Y-Yeah…" she agreed, sighing in relief.

"Anyways, why don't you follow me so I can introduce to you the seventh guild master and get to know each other, hm?" he offered and turned his wheelchair around, rolling towards the mini bar.

Zoe followed him, glancing all around her, taking in the building.

"Watch out!" someone yelled and ducked her head, barely avoiding a chair that was thrown over.

"Hey, flame-brain, watch it!" a dark, blue-haired boy yelled, placing his two hands together.

"You wanna go, ice-freak?" a pink-haired boy shouted back, fists raised up in flames.

Pink hair? What an odd color for hair.

"Zoe, are you coming?" Makarov called out to her, once again snapping her out of her thoughts.

"Yes, sorry." She replied, jogging towards the mini bar.

She came to a stop in front of a red-haired woman dressed in armor and shivered as she felt that gaze studying her.

"Zoe, meet Erza Scarlet, the seventh master." Makarov introduced her, beckoning with one hand towards the woman called Erza.

"It's nice to meet you, Scarlet-san," Zoe said as she extended her hand, a small smile forming on her face.

"Likewise," Erza responded with a smile of her own whilst taking her hand in a firm grip, "I'm surprised to hear that we will have a new member— I wonder, what made you chose us?"

"Well, I have heard a lot about you and I have seen what you have done for this world— I think that's reason enough, don't you think?" she shifted her weight to her other leg, "I also wanted to make a new start in my life and I thought that this guild was ideal for that."

Erza's smile widened, eyes wandering around, "Yeah, I don't think you will regret making this choice, it's a good place to start over. And now, please, could you tell me a few things about yourself?" she asked, eyes focusing back on her.

Zoe nodded, "Well, um, I am seventeen years old, all my life I have lived in Hartselle. I first heard of you from my parents and I had wanted to join Fairy Tail ever since."

"I see, and what about your family? Are your parents back in your homeland?" Erza questioned, crossing her one leg over the other.

Her voice hitched in her throat, lower lip trembling as a familiar house came into her mind— burning, flames everywhere, air suffocating, can't breathe, they're dead, it's burning, burning, _burning, demon—_

"-oe? Zoe, what's happening? Are you okay?"

She flinched as someone placed a hand on her shoulder and lifted her head to look at Erza's and Makarov's concerned expressions. She ran her hand over her face and let out a shaky breath.

Even after all this time, she still hadn't gotten over it.

"Yeah, I'm…I'm fine, thanks, just a little shaken from the memories, you know," she placed her hands inside her pockets, "as for family— no, I don't have one, they…they died when I was young." She mumbled.

"We're sorry, you don't have to tell us more, that is already enough," Makarov spoke up, giving her a sympathetic look.

Zoe smiled, nodding at him, "Thank you."

After a beat of silence, Erza clasped her hands, "Okay, now I think it's time for your guild mark, don't you think? Mirajane, could you please?" Erza glanced over her shoulder at the white-haired woman at the far back of the mini bar.

"Of course!" Mirajane chirped, humming as she came closer to them.

Mirajane's eyes widened as they fell on her and let out a loud squeal and shot forward, leaning over the counter, managing to grab her face.

"Who is this girl? Don't tell me, is she a new member? She's so cute!" Mirajane beamed, mushing her cheeks together.

"Nice to meet you, Mirajane-san," Zoe struggled to say, blushing as the other kept squeezing and pinching her cheeks.

"Erza, we are definitely keeping this one," Mirajane stated, all while smiling, "Now there is only one step left." She withdrew her hands and picked up the rubber stamp, stepping around the counter, standing next to her.

"Where do you want your guild's mark, Zoe-chan?"

Zoe raised her hands and looked down at her body. Perhaps a place with less fat would be the best?

"On my forearm, please." She announced, extending her right arm in front of her.

Mirajane smiled, gently grabbed her hand and pressed the rubber stamp on her forearm. Then, she withdrew it and brushed her fingers over the mark.

"It's a beautiful color!"

She gazed down at her mark, which was a deep purple. "Yeah, it is."

"Well, that settles that— welcome to Fairy Tail, Zoe," Erza replied, patting her on the shoulder.

"Thanks."

Then, Erza turned towards the rest of the guild, which was still in a mess, "All of you, stop fighting and listen! We have a new member here and I want you all to greet her and treat her nicely!" She yelled, voice booming.

Everyone fell silent at her command and turned to look at her.

Chills ran down her spine as everybody had their eyes glued on her, remaining silent. Then, everyone burst forward, crowding over her.

"Hey, it's so nice to meet you! I hope we get along well, my name is Levy!"

"You are only seventeen years old and you are traveling alone? That's so cool!"

"What's your magic power? Come on, tell us, what is it?"

"You are so cute, I want to pinch your chubby cheek for hours!"

" _Silence!_ " Erza shouted, standing between her and the other guild members. "I told you to treat her with respect, don't pounce on her like she's some kind of pray!"

Zoe touched Erza's shoulder, "It's okay, Erza-san, I don't mind it."

"Anyways, let me introduce you to my team," Erza said, slipping a hand over her waist, guiding her towards a table where a few mages sat.

"Guys, let me introduce to you our new guild member, Zoe," Erza announced, pushing her forward.

"Zoe, this is Lucy," she said pointing to a blonde girl who waved at her with a smile on her face. "This is Wendy," a young girl, probably younger than her with blue hair smiled shyly at her. "This is Gray," a boy with dark blue hair nodded at her, "and this is Natsu," a boy with pink hair rushed over and grabbed her hands, shaking them violently.

"Nice to meet you, Zoe!" he said, grinning widely, "Man, this is so awesome! A new member!"

She smiled, "It's nice to meet all of you too, thanks for accepting me."

"Come on, sit down with us, let's get to know each other." Lucy grabbed her wrist and tugged her forward.

She sat down between Lucy and Wendy, across from them Gray, Erza, and Natsu, feeling a warm and fuzzy feeling filling her chest.

After having talked with all of the guild members at least once, Zoe slumped in her seat, placing her head against the table in front of her.

"Socializing is so exhausting..." she mumbled, face pressed against the table.

A hand was pressed onto her back, rubbing in slow circles, "Well, you did really well today, everyone was so excited to talk to you, even though some might not have looked like it," Lucy chuckled, "Having a new guild member means so much to everyone here, so it's only logical that they would have reacted this way."

"I see…" she muttered and closed her eyes, the movement against her back calming.

"Hey, Zoe, if you're tired you can return home, you know? Nobody will say anything to you."

"I know, I should probably go."

The movement on her back paused and she turned her head to glance up at Lucy, "What is it?"

"It's nothing, just…where are you staying?"

"At an Inn, on the outskirts of the town," she replied, lifting her head up, "Why?"

Lucy tapped her finger against her chin, "Well, you have been staying at that Inn for a few days before coming here, right?"

She nodded, "What are you trying to get at?"

"How much money do you have left, Zoe?"

She scowled and rubbed her chin, lost in thought. She had some with her on her way to Magnolia, but it wasn't a fortune. Surely, she had a few until she could take another job, right?

She grabbed her back bag that was placed next to the table and opened it up, rummaging through her stuff. She grabbed her wallet and opened it, mouth dropping at the emptiness inside.

 _Just like my soul, ha-ha._

"It's empty." She stated and turned it upside down, shaking it.

"Oh, _wow._ "

"Why do you sound so amazed?!" Lucy yelled, throwing her arms in the air.

"It's okay, Lucy, you don't have to worry, I'm sure I'll figure something out. Either way, I have already paid tonight, so if I take a job tomorrow, I will have enough money to pay for the next few days." She replied, waving her hand dismissively.

"Anyways, I should get going, thank you so much for keeping me company Lucy, and also thank Erza for me, too." Zoe stood up, hooking her bag over her shoulder. "See you tomorrow."

"See ya, Zoe." Lucy waved at her goodbye as she left.

Once she was out of the guild, doors closed behind her, she let out a heavy sigh and massaged her forehead. Today things had rolled way smoother than she would have had imagined, as everything went according to her plan. Well, almost according to her plan, if she hadn't been so uptight and awkward, but it's not like she was doing it on purpose.

She strolled through the town, sun lowering over the mountain hilltops. She wrapped her jacket around herself tighter as she felt the chill of the air. Winter had almost ended, with spring right at the corner, but the nights were still cold.

She shoved her hands inside her pockets and walking faster, as she glanced at her right. There was something amiss, something that didn't feel right at the moment. She thought she had sensed another presence nearby, but wasn't sure, as she was exhausted and her senses weren't as sharp.

She took a turn at an alleyway and hid behind some boxes, shadows engulfing her. Her heart beat loudly against her chest as she heard steps coming into the alley. When they had reached close enough, she sprung out and lifted her fist, aiming it towards her pursuer's head.

Instead of feeling her fist collide with the person's face, her hand was caught like it was nothing, stopping her completely. She squinted her eyes and managed to catch a bundle of pink hair.

"Natsu-san? What are you doing here?"

Natsu withdrew his hand and rubbed the back of his neck, chuckling nervously, "Ah, well, you see, this is, um, we needed to make sure you're alright," he said, and glanced behind him, "Hey, Gray, she's over here!"

Zoe simply stared, crossing her arms over her chest as Gray appeared.

"Idiot, I told you this was a bad idea— and don't tell her that, it makes it creepier than it already is!" Gray snapped at Natsu, hitting him on the back of the head.

"Did you hit me, ice-freak?" Natsu grabbed Gray's collar, yanking him close.

"And what if I did, squinty-eyes?"

"Pervert."

"Dragon-freak."

"Popsicle!"

"Flame-brain!"

 _Are they actually serious right now?_

Zoe stared silently at them as they kept bickering with each other, as they seemed to have completely forgotten about her.

"Hey, guys, I think that's enough now." Her gaze wandered from one to the other, sighing as her words were completely ignored.

Her eyes widened as she saw the blush that had smeared Gray's face, pupils dilated, a small smile on his face as Natsu kept throwing insults at him.

 _Oh, so that's how it is..._

Now that she looked closely, she noticed how Gray leaned into the other more, stance relaxed, playful.

 _Who the hell am I to butt into their business, anyway?_

"Guys!" she yelled, finally getting their attention. "Sorry about that, but could someone tell me why you were following me?"

Gray averted his eyes, staring down at his feet. He nudged Natsu, who cleared his throat.

"Well, you see, we just wanted to make sure that you would return home safely— it's not like we are underestimating you, I'm sure you have some awesome powers, but you seemed kinda out of it as you left, so, yeah…I hope you aren't too creeped out by it." Natsu explained, a grinning.

Zoe studied them, the corner of her lip quirking up.

 _So, this is Fairy Tail, huh…_

While it _was_ creepy, the thought alone was kind. She chuckled and flashed them a wide grin, "Thank you guys, even though I have just joined and you don't even know me, that's really sweet of you."

Natsu stared at her with an odd spark inside his eyes, expression serious, "That doesn't matter, from the moment you join Fairy Tail, you instantly become a part of our family, getting to know you is an entirely different matter, right Gray?"

Natsu turned towards the dark-haired mage, who nodded in return.

"That's right, just as the idiot said, just because you joined recently, doesn't mean we won't protect you."

"Hey, who did you call an idiot?"

"You obviously, idiot."

"Take it back!"

"Nope."

"Gray!"

Zoe remained silent, gaping as the two boys in front of her started bickering again.

 _"_ _From the moment you join Fairy Tail, you instantly become a part of our family,"_

Family…she hasn't had that in a long time. Maybe it would be nice to let herself feel again and open up to other people. Perhaps now she might have a family of her own again.

A place to call home.


	2. Chapter 2

**Here's chapter two! :)**

Zoe yawned and covered her mouth with her hand. She sauntered through the streets of Magnolia, heading towards the guild. It was pretty early, so she didn't suspect many people to be there just yet, which was what she wanted, so she could take a job and finish it as soon as possible.

Of course, she was nervous, as it would be her first time and had decided to go alone. Either way, she didn't really believe anyone would want her. While it was true that all of them were kind towards her, mostly Lucy, Erza, Wendy, Gray, and Natsu, she still believed that they wouldn't want to go on a mission with her from the very first day, as they would surely be suspicious and wouldn't trust her.

When it came to her powers, she didn't think of herself being weak, but also wasn't as arrogant to think that she was extremely powerful. She was decent, could hold her own whenever the situation called for it.

"Hey, Zoe-san, wait up!" a female voice called out to her and paused in her steps, turning around.

"Good morning, Wendy, Carla," she greeted them as she waved.

"Good morning, Zoe, how are you feeling today?" Carla asked, floating next to her.

"Well rested, I'm actually ready to take my first job. Although, I'll have to take something easy, as I will be going alone." She responded and nodded to herself.

"But you are going to come with us today on a job and also, you are going the wrong way, we need to gather at the train station," Wendy stated and titled her head.

Zoe snapped her head to the side, eyes widened, "What? No one told me anything about it…and either way, I think it would be for the best that I don't join you."

"Why not? We all want you to come with us, especially on your first job, Zoe-san!" Wendy objected, hands curling into fists.

She rubbed the back of her neck and averted her eyes, "I just don't want to get in your way, is all…" she mumbled.

Something light hit her head and lifted her eyes to look up at the exceed, whose expression was scrunched up, "Seriously, I don't want to hear something like this coming from you or anyone ever again— Wendy used to be like that too, saying that she would only be a hindrance, but look where she is now," Carla scolded her, and crossed her small paws over her chest, "If you say that again I'm going to tell Erza."

She cocked her head, "And that is bad, how exactly?"

"Wanna test it and find out?"

She shivered and shook her head, "Uh, now that I think about it, maybe not…?"

"Good, now let's go, the others must be waiting for us." Carla turned around and started floating ahead of them, towards the train station.

Zoe sighed and fell into step with Wendy, following Carla. "I guess I don't have any other choice."

"It will be fun, I promise!" Wendy smiled, intertwining her hands behind her back.

"Guess so."

A comfortable silence followed between them, both girls enjoying the serenity of the morning time.

"Have I told you how cute that tiny ponytail of yours is?" Wendy suddenly said, catching her off guard.

"W-What? Um, no, I don't think you have," she felt heat rising up in her cheeks and tried to force it down.

"Well, it is."

"Thank you, Wendy."

After a few more minutes of walking, they finally could see the train station. They passed through the gates and could see in the distance the other mages already gathered up, waiting for them.

"I see you are finally here— good job in bringing her here, Wendy," Erza said with a small smile, arms crossed over her chest.

"It's really nothing."

"Um, excuse me, Erza-san," Zoe started, yet paused as Erza held up a hand in front of her.

"Please, there is no need to address me like that, just Erza is fine," Erza advised, "I'm sorry, what were you going to say?"

"It's just that nobody told me about this and I didn't come prepared, I don't even know what this job is about and how long we are going to be away."

Erza's eyes widened, "Wait, nobody informed you about it? I had told Lucy to inform you."

"Well, she might have forgotten about it or something…" Zoe mumbled, shrugging her shoulders.

"Lucy!" Erza yelled, making all the others flinch.

"Wait, no, Erza, it's fine, you don't have to yell at her for it." She defended, grabbing gently her wrist.

Erza looked down at her hand and then lifted her head, staring at her. Zoe gave her a small, unsure smile and before she knew it, her cheeks were being pinched.

"Mira was right, you are too cute."

"Uh, thanks…?"

"Hey, look, it's Zoe!"

She glanced over Erza's shoulder and saw Natsu running up at her, a wide grin on his face, with Happy floating next to him.

"Are you ready to go on your first job?"

"Aye!"

"Ready as I'll ever be," she confessed as her cheeks were finally released.

"Let's go, then and we'll fill you in whilst on the way!" Natsu wrapped his arm over her shoulders and guided her towards the train, cackling.

 _Yeah, I could get used to this…_

"So, the job is to find out what has happened to this village and why it has been abandoned?" Zoe asked as she sat crossed legged, staring into the fire in front of her.

"More or less, yeah," Gray replied.

It had been a few hours since they had arrived at the location, and had taken two hours for them to reach the village. When they did reach it, the sun had already set, so they had decided to put up a camp and start from tomorrow.

Now, Zoe sat between Gray and Natsu, with Erza, Lucy and Wendy across from them on the other side of the fire. Nobody had wanted to sleep close to these two because they snored loudly, so she had offered to sleep close to them. All the others had fallen asleep and only she and Gray lay awake, not feeling overly sleepy quite yet. Either way, she didn't really think she would get any sleep tonight as she was completely enamored by the burning flames in front of her.

 _Sizzling, suffocating smoke surrounded her. Someone was screaming, she didn't know who, but it was loud and ear-piercing. Someone was sobbing, bawling their eyes out, yet she didn't know who it was. All she knew was that she stood there, two familiar bodies at her feet, staring up at her through the flames with those lifeless eyes, void, empty, judging her._

 _It was her, the one to blame for everything that happened, the one who was screaming and wailing, the one she feared. She was her demons and they were hers._

"-oe? Zoe, are you alright?"

She snapped back to the present as she a cold hand land on her shoulder.

"Your hand is cold," She responded and the arm withdrew immediately.

"Sorry, you were just spacing off and for a moment there." Gray apologized and she grabbed his hand again, holding onto it, onto the cold, onto the safeness.

 _Anything else except that suffocating warmth._

"I didn't say it bothered me…could I, um, could I hold your hand for a little bit longer? The cold, it's…" she struggled to explain, not wanting to give any more information away than necessary.

"You feel uncomfortable around the flames?" Gray asked, staring at the flames too, not taking his hand away.

She smiled sadly, "Yeah, I guess you could say that."

Gray remained silent, eyes fixated on the fire. She was thankful that he hadn't withdrawn his hand just yet, feeling the cold grounded her against the present.

"You should probably go to sleep now, I have taken the first watch either way." He commented, squeezing her hand and then withdrew it.

"To be honest, I don't think I'm going to be able to get any sleep tonight— I don't even know if I want to," she confessed and leaned back on her sleeping bag, laying down, gazing up at the starless sky.

"And why's that?" Gray asked in a hushed tone. If it wasn't so eerily quiet, she might have not heard him.

"Because we all have our demons, literal and metaphorical," she replied and glanced up at him, "right?"

She felt quite cold and turned her head towards the fire, eyes slightly widening as she saw the previous burning flames wrapped in ice.

"Won't the others get cold?" she whispered, eyes turning to Gray.

"They can deal with a little cold, and either way, it's not very smart to leave the fire burning in the night. You never know who might be out there."

She tucked her hands under her chin, a small smile formed on her lips.

"Good night, Gray."

"Night."

"We should split into teams of two, so we could search faster," Erza announced, hands placed on her hips, "Gray, Natsu and Happy, you three go east, and me, Lucy, Wendy, Zoe, and Carla will go west."

"No! I wanna come with you and be with Carla!" Happy cried out and buried himself on Lucy's chest.

"Hey, Happy, come back here! Don't you dare leave me alone with this ice-freak!" Natsu shouted, walking towards the exceed.

"What did you say, flame-brain?"

"Guys, stop fighting, I will join you two if Happy wants to go with the girls," Zoe spoke up.

"Are you sure about this, Zoe?" Erza asked her, who in return nodded.

"Okay then, it's settled, we'll meet back in the camp after two hours. Let's head out!"

And with that, the two teams parted ways, jogging towards the opposite direction. The three of them walked through the empty streets of the village, looking right and left for anything unusual.

She sighed, as she strolled a few steps behind the two boys that were ahead of her, fighting with each other again.

"Seriously guys, from the way you are acting, you are way worse than an old married couple." She commented and smirked as she saw Gray going rigid.

"S-Shut up…" Gray grumbled, covering his mouth with his hand.

"What was that, Gray? I didn't quite catch it— do you mean that what I say is incorrect?" Her smirk widened as Gray turned around and glared at her.

"Zoe, you—"

"I can smell someone else," Natsu stated, voice grave.

"Where? Is he close?" Gray responded, immediately refocusing, taking a battle stance.

Natsu clicked his tongue and lowered his posture too, ready to pounce, "I can't exactly pinpoint it, it's vague, but be on your guards," he glanced at her and beckoned her closer, "Zoe, come over here, it's dangerous to be—"

She felt a presence coming up behind her too late and before anyone could react, there was a hand wrapped around her throat, grip tightening, making it extremely hard to breathe.

"Oh, I wouldn't be so fast on making decisions right there, buddy," the man behind her chuckled as Natsu gnashed his teeth, halting from advancing forward.

"Let her go, you bastard!" Natsu screamed, fists engulfed in flames.

The man behind her tightened his grip, cackling, "Or else what?"

A crystal fog covered Gray as he glared at the attacker, "We'll beat you to a pulp."

"Oh, I'll crush her throat before any of you manage to even take a step forward, so, I believe that you need to rethink your choices here," he grabbed her forearm with his other hand and dug his nails into her guild mark, "so, what's it gonna be?"

Zoe placed her own hand over the one that was wrapped around her throat and squeezed it in a death grip. She chuckled, which came out in a cough fit more than a laugh.

"Is there something funny, you little bitch?" Her attacker growled into her ear.

"Y-Yeah…you," she said and lifted her shaky hand, stretching it forward.

The man snorted, "Nothing you do is gonna work on me, little one, I doubt you have enough magic power to even scratch me. You'll only succeed in embarrassing yourself in front of your friends."

She smirked and jerked her arm backward. There was a pond nearby and the water flew towards their direction, turning into ice before it hit her attacker straight in the chest, sending him flying. She collapsed on her knees, coughing. Then, she stood up, wobbly on her feet and whirled around, raising both arms up. She snapped her arms together and more water shot forward from the pond, molding into icy pillars which fell all around the man, trapping him inside.

She lowered her arms and panted, "What did you say about me not having enough magic to even scratch you?" she teased, a cocky smirk on her face.

"Way to go, Zoe."

A hand landed on her shoulder and glanced up, Gray looking at her with a proud smirk on his face.

"Thanks," she wiped her mouth with the back of her hand and glanced at their attacker again, who was now being harassed by a certain pink-haired mage.

"Yeah, that's what you get for underestimating a Fairy Tail guild member, you asshole! And considering what you were about to do, she went easy on you," Natsu grinned widely, canines showing as he raised his flaming fist, "Maybe I should teach you a lesson?"

"Natsu, stop it, we need him alive in order to interrogate him," Gray stated and Natsu clicked his tongue, as he started backing away.

Gray turned towards her again, "Can you walk on your own or do you need help?"

She waved her hand dismissively, "I'm fine, this is nothing."

"You are one tough cookie, aren't you?"

Heat crept up her face and she swatted him, "Don't call me that!"

He laughed, "Well, that was impressive, I didn't know that you were an element mage."

"Yeah, well, there are a lot of things that you don't know about me…" she mumbled and averted her eyes, "anyway, let's get on with his."

She walked towards their attacker and knelt down in front of him. "So, who are you and what business do you have here?"

"And why should I tell you anything, girl?"

"Because if you don't—" she clenched her fist and the pillars of ice tightened around his body, making him grunt in pain, "I will crush you."

"Gray, am I legally old enough to adopt a child?"

"Oh my god, shut up, Natsu."

Zoe snorted as she heard them, but remained focus on the matter at hand.

"So? What are you gonna do?" she addressed the man in front of her.

After a beat of silence, he lowered his head and spoke up, "Have you wondered what happened to his village?"

"Why it's abandoned and there is no sign of life? Yeah, that's like, the whole point of our job." She inhaled sharply as the man lifted his head and glared at her with a manic grin on his face.

"I'm the one who turned this village into a grave— you wanna know why? Because I was so bored and felt like having some fun! I sucked dry of all of their life force and magic," he licked his lips, "I have to say, they were very delicious."

"Why you bastard…" Natsu growled, taking a step forward, but Gray placed his arm over his chest, stopping him.

"Gray, let me go—"

"Be quiet, flame-brain." He ordered, voice low.

Zoe closed her eyes and let out a shaky breath. She lifted her hand and slammed it onto the ground, hearing the satisfying crunch.

"Don't worry, I didn't kill him, he's just unconscious." She confessed and stood up, walking away from him. "You should head back to the camp now and take him with you, so we can all decide what to do with him."

"Where are you going?" Natsu called out.

"Don't worry, I'll come back in a few." She said without looking behind her and stopping.

"But it's still dangerous to—"

"Leave her alone, Natsu, she'll come back when she's ready," Gray advised, holding him back.

Zoe smiled, grateful that Gray understood.

She kept walking aimlessly and at some point reached a lake. Gazing at the crystal clear water was making her calm and relaxed. She glanced at the rock that emerged from inside the lake and jumped towards it, managing to land on it, as it wasn't too far away. She sat down crossed legged and took in a deep breath, letting it out.

To think that there were people out there that actually enjoyed killing and found amusement in it really disgusted her. She couldn't even begin to understand how such a monstrous action brought joy to these certain people, the thought alone made her stomach flip.

 _Her hands were covered in blood, dripping down onto the ground. She glanced at the bodies in front of her, blood smeared everywhere. She let out an ear-piercing scream and fell to her knees, covering her face with her hands. She choked on a sob and felt a coppery taste in her mouth. She gasped and withdrew her hands, glancing up._

 _There she was, covered in blood, a wide grin splitting her face in two._

 _Zoe backed away, eyes widening in terror, "W-Who are you?"_

 _"_ _I am you, and you are me."_

 _She shook her head violently, "I would never do this! There's no way that I would kill my own—"_

 _The girl in front of her started chuckling lowly and soon it turned into loud laughter. "Oh, oh, but you did, you poor thing. You ripped their life out of them and burned them to crisps."_

 _"_ _N-No…I—"_

 _The girl cackled, "You still refuse to believe it? Man, you are so pathetic, to think that someone like you has this much power," the girl raised her arms wide open, "look around you, look at the flames that are burning your home into ashes, this is all your doing, your flames, your cursed power. Your flames cause nothing but destruction."_

 _"_ _Shut up! Shut up, shut up, shut up,_ _ **shut up**_ _!" she screamed at the top of her lungs, "you're lying, I'm…"_

 _"_ _You're a monster, a demon, cursed to exist upon this world only to cause destruction to everyone around you."_

 _Her whole body shook violently, heaving as tears rolled down her cheeks like an unstoppable stream._

 _"_ _This power of yours will only bring harm to all those you love, because you are nothing but a monster, a demon."_

 _She shut her eyes and screamed at the top of her lungs, feeling the flames intensifying, wrapping around her, trapping her inside her own mind._

 _She had done this, she was the one at fault._

 _She was a monster._

She whipped her hand out and commanded the surrounding water to spring forward, freezing it into sharp ice as it flew towards the person that dared come close to her, ready to eliminate the threat.

She panted as she saw the spikes of ice being broken, dispatched into a steam of sparkling smoke.

Her eyes widened in horror as she snapped her head up and stared at Gray, who was looking back at her, expression closed up, unreadable.

"I-I…I don't…no," she grasped her head and closed her eyes.

 _She could have killed him._

"I'm s-sorry…I'm so sorry, sorry, please, stop it, I'm sorry, I swear I will learn to control them, _please_ —" she repeated over and over again, like a broken mantra.

She slowly lowered her hands and stared at the blood that had marked them, dripping down into the water, tainting it.

"Monster…a monster, please help me—" she snapped her head up and looked at Gray, eyes filled with tears, pleading, "Please, you have to kill it, you have to…please, kill the demon…"

"Shit, Zoe, calm down, you're safe, there's no monster or demon here, just me and you," Gray said calmly, raising both hands in front of him, "just calm down, breathe in and it's going to be—"

"You don't get it! I'm the one to blame, I did this— I killed them! I'm the monster, so, please, you have to kill me now while you still have the chance!" She threw up her hands, causing a tide of water to snap towards Gray who dodged it.

"Please, I don't want to hurt you too…" she whispered and gritted her teeth.

Then, pain exploded in the back of her head and her vision blurred, head spinning.

 _Did it work? Is this…it?_

She closed her eyes and welcomed the darkness with a warm smile.


	3. Chapter 3

She groggily woke up, face scrunching as a stab of pain flashed through her head. She softly groaned as she tried to move and eventually sat up, rubbing her forehead.

What had happened? The last thing she remembered was—

She gasped as the memories flashed in front of her eyes, gritting her teeth.

 _Gray…_

Had she harmed him? Her chest tightened at the thought and slammed her fist against the ground.

"I wouldn't be moving so much if I were you, I accidentally hit you more than I had intentioned and it seems your head is still pretty shaken from it."

She snapped her head up, not caring about how the movement made her head throb.

"…Gray is that you?"

Gray scoffed and crossed his arms over his chest. "Of course it's me, who else would it be? Do you really think that a weak attack like that would off me so easily? I feel offended."

She gaped at him, gawking at his frowned expression. Then, she ducked her head, a relieved smile forming on her lips, "You aren't hurt, I'm so glad, so glad…"

She brought her knees in and hid her face, choking out a sob.

"I'm sorry, Gray…I'm sorry you had to see that, sorry that I tried to hurt you, so please, don't tell anyone else, they can't know, they _mustn't_ know…"

Her eyes widened as she felt a hand land on top of her head, patting her.

"You have nothing to worry about, you just focus on calming down," he reassured, staring up ahead as he kept patting her head. "As you said, we all have our demons, right?" He glanced at her, a small smile on his lips.

Her lower lip quivered and whipped her eyes, silently nodding. They remained like that for quite a while, with Gray's hand on top of her head. The sun had begun to set, disappearing behind the trees.

She was glad that it was Gray who had found her. From what Lucy had told her, Gray had a past with the demon Deliora and that was all she knew, because Lucy had informed her that whenever the time came, Gray would decide to tell her about his past himself.

It seemed that they were both being haunted by their own demons, only in her case, the demon was her own self. How much would she have wished that it would be someone else, a murderer or a creature to blame, yet no matter how much she wished it, it would never become true, because the harsh reality was that she was the monster in this story.

"So, water and ice, huh? I gotta say, this is some powerful magic you have— to be honest, I do envy you a little bit," he admitted and finally retracted his hand.

Zoe shook her head, "It's just water— ice isn't a different element that I can create, just like you, I just can turn water into ice." She explained, playing with the hem of her sleeve.

"I see— so, _just_ water, right?" he asked, turning his head, eyes falling on her.

She averted her eyes, biting her lower lip, deciding to remain silent. After all, he had seen, she couldn't keep on lying to him, but she also didn't want to reveal everything about her. He could perhaps just know about the extent of her powers, right?

And maybe it would be good for her if she told Gray about her powers, even if it was a tiny amount of information about her. She could let something out and finally learn to depend on someone, even if it was just for this.

"Actually, no…it's not just water, it's also…" she trailed off, gritting her teeth, "it's also…fire."

"Water and fire, huh…" he mused, rubbing his chin, "I have never heard of a mage being able to control two different elements, you must be extremely powerful."

"Well, not exactly…I was born with the ability to control both, but there is only one element that I could manipulate better since birth, meaning that I had to learn how to strengthen the other one." She declared, hesitantly peeking at Gray.

"So, which element is the most powerful?"

"…fire," she gritted out through clenched teeth.

"And I take that something terrible has happened in the past that makes you feel this way towards it?"

"Yeah, I guess you could say that…I haven't used fire since then, it's been so long, I don't even know if I can manipulate it anymore, but to be honest, I don't care— I would prefer to lose it altogether, it's better this way, for everyone…" she answered, eyes narrowed.

"Well, that's a shame, Natsu would have loved this," he replied, glancing up at the darkening sky.

"Yeah, I guess he would—"

She inhaled sharply as the realization dawned upon her. She smirked and leaned forward, placing her elbows on the ground, resting her chin on her palms.

"Aw, did you want to see your crush being happy and excited this much?"

Gray seemed to choke on his own spit and tapped his fist against his chest. He glanced at her with a nervous smile and her smirked widened.

"Please, I could never have a crush on that idiot dragon-freak."

"I never said that it was Natsu."

Gray's eyes widened, a blush evident on his face.

"Aw, Gray-kun, you are so adorable—"

She was yanked forward and stared at Gray in amusement, who was giving her a death glare.

"If you tell anyone about this, I will kick your ass and I won't hold back in the slightest, especially now that I know about your magic powers." He growled into her face and she raised her arms, placing them on his shoulders.

"Did you really think I would do such a thing, even after a thing you just witnessed? Your secret's safe with me, I promise."

He scowled but silently nodded, letting her go.

"We should probably return to the camp, I don't even know how long it's been, the others must be worried." He said, standing up and extended his hand towards her.

She took it and stood up next to him.

"I just hope that Erza doesn't break any of our bones."

"What?!" she shrieked, eyes widening in horror.

Gray shoved his hands inside his pockets as they started walking.

"Well, she can be extremely terrifying when it comes to things like this."

* * *

She thickly swallowed as she felt the ominous aura coming from above her as she sat on her knees with Gray beside her, mirroring the same position as hers.

"You have a lot of nerve showing up ten hours later, pretending like nothing happened," Erza growled, arms crossed over her chest.

"I'm pretty sure it hasn't even been five hours…" Zoe mumbled and flinched as Erza knelt in front of her, glaring.

"What was that, Zoe?"

She gulped and weakly shook her head. "N-Nothing."

"You guys are into some serious trouble, especially you, Zoe," Erza said, pointing at her, "after everything that happened, how could you run off aimlessly like that? And you, Gray, don't you think that you are off the hook that easily." She turned to glare at him, who quivered under her piercing eyes.

"You should have brought her back immediately after you found her and you shouldn't have left in the first place, leaving Natsu behind."

Gray averted his eyes, remaining silent.

"Well, I said what I wanted to— they are all yours Natsu," She said, standing up and walking away from them, joining the others.

She cringed as she looked at Natsu, whose head was ducked, hair over his face, covering his eyes and mouth pressed into a tight line. He walked towards them and stopped in front of them, arms limply at his side.

"Natsu, I—

"Shut up, Gray."

Suddenly, she and Gray were pulled into a warm chest, arms wrapped around their shoulders.

"You two are complete idiots, you know that? I would really like to beat you to a pulp for running off like that, knowing how dangerous it was." Natsu mumbled, his grip tightening.

"Natsu…"

She saw Gray place his hand on Natsu's back, patting him. "Natsu, you are choking us."

"Oh, sorry." He said and released them, rubbing the back of his head sheepishly. "You just really worried me there."

"We're sorry about that, it's not gonna happen again," she promised.

"You better not, or else I'll have to kick your asses for real this time!"

"I'd like to see you try, idiot."

"You are really pushing your luck here, ice-freak!"

She smiled as she gazed at them.

 _I hope that you get your happy ending, Gray._

* * *

"Urgh, I'm so exhausted and hungry— how much longer do we have until we arrive at the…t-train station?"

Natsu gulped as he stuttered out the last part, hugging himself as a shiver wrecked through his body.

"Would you stop complaining for a second? This is the fifth time that you have asked, Natsu!" Lucy huffed, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Well, it's not my fault we have been walking for hours! I'm bound to get hungry and tired, and I'm pretty sure that I ain't the only one, right Happy?" Natsu turned towards the exceed that was floating next to him.

"Aye! I'm quite hungry too! I want to eat fish!" Happy exclaimed whilst pumping his small paw into the air.

"See?"

"Do you ever think about anything else except food, you two?" Carla asked as she studied them with a judgmental look on her face.

"Of course not! I also think about you, Carla!" Happy replied, flying towards the female exceed.

"Get away from me you pervert," Carla said and flew away from him, leaving him hanging.

"Carla you're so mean…" Happy sniffed, and floated half-heartedly towards Natsu and landed on his head.

Zoe chuckled as she gazed at them, having decided to remain further behind, not wanting to interrupt them but also because she had quite a lot of things on her mind.

Ever since yesterday's events, she couldn't help but feel uneasy. It had been a long time since the last time that she had had such a powerful flashback. It was so severe that she had lost control of her powers and not only that, but she had also lashed out to Gray, resulting in almost hurting him. She was so glad that he had managed to handle her and knock her out— of course, she knew that Gray was a powerful mage and could overpower her easily, yet at the time, she couldn't think straight.

The only thing she could see was red, red everywhere. She was so terrified that she had lost control of her primal power and she was extremely relieved when she had found out that she hadn't even used her fire magic.

Maybe after all these years of not using them, she had lost it, maybe she really wasn't able to use those cursed flames anymore, and she was more than grateful for whatever being blessed her with his gift. The only thing she could do was hope that her fire magic was gone forever.

"Zoe are you alright?"

She snapped out of her thoughts as she glanced up to the person walking now next to her.

"Yeah…yeah, I'm fine, just lost in thoughts. Yesterday's events have me shaken quite a bit." She confessed and sighed, "I really don't know what I would have done if it weren't for you to stop me, I owe you a lot, Gray."

Gray grunted and rubbed the back of his head, glancing away. "It was really nothing, you were suffering and I just wanted to free you of your demons, even if it were only for a little while, it was the least I could do and I…I know how it feels, to be trapped inside your own mind, having demons chasing after you everywhere."

Zoe saw his darkened expression, mouth set in a hard line, a frown forming on his face.

"The demon Deliora…right?" she asked, voice nothing more than a mere whisper disappearing into the wind, but from the way Gray's body slightly flinched, she knew that he had heard her.

"Yeah, that was its name— wait, how do you know about it?"

"As I was talking to Lucy she mentioned it once, but she never told me what had really happened, she just told me that you have some relation with that demon."

Gray glanced down at his feet, eyes covered by his black strands that fell over his forehead. "I see…would you like to know about it? I don't mind telling you."

She turned to face him and waved her hands in front of her, "You don't have to force yourself just because the topic brought it up, I know how it is to be reminded of all the unpleasant memories, so really, don't force yourself."

"I told you It's okay, even though it's hard going down memory lane, I have long gotten over it, so I'm fine with it."

For the rest of their trip, until they reached the train station, Gray was telling her about his past, from the first attack of Deliora that killed his parents, until the fight against Tartaros, in which he faced off against his father.

"…And that's basically how I acquired Demon Slayer magic from my father."

Zoe remained silent, biting the inside of her cheek as she gazed off into the distance.

"You're really strong, you know, I admire you for succeeding to achieve happiness and never giving up throughout all these hardships…" she clenched her fists, "me, on the other hand…"

"I don't know what exactly happened in your past, but it's not too late, you know? You coming to Fairy Tail means that you want to redeem yourself, to leave your past behind and start a new life and I respect that. That is the most difficult step of the journey, and if it's too much to handle alone, I will be here for you."

Her eyes widened as she halted, staring up at Gray, who looked back at her with a serious expression.

"You…" she started but she couldn't form any words and just ended up gaping at him. Then she let out a giggle and dragged her hand over her face.

"You are something else, big brother Gray!"

"Don't call me that!"

She laughed out loud as Gray furrowed his eyebrows.

"We are here! Finally, we get to return home!"

Zoe snapped her head to the right and saw Lucy beam at them with a huge smile on her face.

Seems like they had finally reached the train station.


End file.
